Adopted Sister Villa

In a teahouse in Little Spring Town, the storyteller whose leg had been broken was still telling bloodthirsty tales.

He had no choice. That day, not only had someone broken one of his legs, they had also stolen the reward money from him.

Setting his leg cost silver, and if he stopped telling stories, he would have no income. So he could only grit his teeth and continue.

Vaguely, he felt that his broken leg might have something to do with Old Devil Duan.

After all, Old Devil Duan was actually quite charismatic. It was not merely because of his methods of making women fall; it was because he dared to kill anyone, regardless of gender or faction.

He could turn the relatively low-ranking gangs of the martial world into rivers of blood, dared to make great heroes fall, and dared to kill the Red Tower Fairy and the madmen of the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect. He treated everyone equally.

Such a person probably had no shortage of followers.

But during this period, everyone had become obsessed with stories of Old Devil Duan making women fall, so he could only keep telling them.

Though he was somewhat afraid, he also felt a faint excitement.

Yes, his desire to tell bloodthirsty tales was no lie. At the thought that he might somehow become connected to Old Devil Duan, he actually felt excited.

Duan Yun sat in the tea house, already deciding that he would break the storyteller's other leg later.

Over the past two days, he had gradually grown accustomed to becoming the protagonist in this storyteller's tales.

To others, he was mysterious and sinister, possessed countless perverse methods, and looked harmless to man and beast while secretly bringing chaos to heaven and earth. Yet he himself knew that he was filled with righteous energy.

Other than being handsome, looking harmless to man and beast, and leading a donkey around, that Old Devil Duan could not have been more different from him.

Yet that was who he was in other people's eyes.

In his previous life, Duan Yun had been an ordinary office drone, utterly unremarkable and never any kind of celebrity.

Now, through a twist of fate, he had become a figure of legend in other people's mouths. The feeling was actually rather novel.

It was just that this reputation was worlds apart from what he had imagined—indeed, the complete opposite.

Still, he knew that given enough time, his heroic name would surely spread far and wide.

Just then, the storyteller suddenly fell silent.

Yes, it was not one of those pauses meant to solicit reward money. He had suddenly gone quiet as a cicada in winter.

At the same time, the patrons in the teahouse also fell silent.

The place had been bustling with noise a moment ago, yet all sound suddenly vanished.

It was because three people in red had suddenly appeared outside the teahouse.

Their bodies were covered in tadpole-like runes. Their sparsely haired scalps were riddled with deep holes, resembling honeycombs at a glance and making one's scalp tingle.

Jet-black flutes had been inserted into two of the holes.

At a glance, they looked like gigantic moth grubs that had become spirits—especially wicked and eerie.

They merely stood there, yet the air nearby seemed to congeal.

Duan Yun looked at the three strange people without speaking.

The three red-clad people glanced inside, then left shortly afterward.

Only after the time it took to drink half a cup of tea did the teahouse become lively again.

At that moment, the storyteller muttered, "Did you see that? Even masters from the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect have arrived. Old Devil Duan may be somewhere near Springwatch City."

Duan Yun fell into thought.

He could not be sure whether those three had come for him, but their sinister aura alone marked them as true experts, far beyond the madman from the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect whom he had killed with a flick of his finger that day.

It seemed the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect still had some foundations.

Should I follow them and kill them first?

The thought flashed through his mind.

He quickly reined in his killing intent.

Old Devil Duan could not reveal his whereabouts so quickly. He did not know whether only those three had come, or whether there were other enemies nearby.

Even though he was a once-in-ten-thousand-years swordsmanship prodigy, he had no desire to be besieged.

After finishing his tea, Duan Yun led the donkey away.

Since people from the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect had already arrived, the inn was crowded and full of prying eyes. It was no longer a place where he could stay.

Today, he needed to find a suitable place to cultivate his techniques.

It reminded him of the time when the Black Bear Gang had forced him from his home, leaving him with a home he could not return to.

Once his cultivation advanced another step, he would definitely come back and slaughter these people cleanly, only then venting his hatred at having an inn but being unable to spend money in it!

Little Spring Town on the city outskirts was bustling, but Jade Town not far away presented an entirely different scene.

The little town had everything, yet it was much quieter.

Jade Town had once been lively, because a jade mine vein had appeared here. But later, the mine was exhausted, people left, and the town gradually became deserted.

Moreover, there was a grave mountain near the town. Most of the dead around Springwatch City were buried there, and strange incidents often occurred in town. Over time, even fewer people came here.

Duan Yun rather liked the place.

Little Spring Town was lively, but there were ultimately too many people and too many eyes.

If this "Old Devil" kept leading a donkey in and out of that place, he would easily expose himself before his enemies.

Jade Town had been built along the mountain slope, with a clear blue lake beside it. It reminded him of the days he had spent cultivating in Clear Tea Market.

There were not many people in Jade Town, but neither were there especially few.

After all, it was close to Springwatch City. Its small population was only relative.

Walking along Jade Town's rather old streets, Duan Yun even felt that it was not quiet enough.

He preferred the feeling of living on the outskirts in Clear Tea Market.

So Duan Yun walked along the lakeshore and arrived at the edge of Jade Town.

There was a set of stairs leading up the mountain, where several residences stood, seemingly abandoned.

From here, the windows of those abandoned residences resembled pitch-black eyes, somewhat chilling to behold.

Yet Duan Yun could not help walking upward.

Halfway up, he discovered a very large residence.

This residence was naturally abandoned as well, but it had been preserved relatively intact. Unlike the other houses, whose courtyard walls and rooms had partly collapsed, it still stood whole.

Standing before its gate, he could vaguely make out several characters on the wooden plaque. The writing had peeled away, however, and Duan Yun could only recognize strokes resembling "Sworn Sister Manor."

"Sworn Sister Manor, perhaps?" Duan Yun guessed.

He did not enter the residence immediately. After tying Little Gray to a nearby tree, he circled the residence's outer wall.

By the time he was halfway around, Duan Yun had to admit that any place daring to call itself a "manor" truly covered an enormous area.

But when he reached the rear courtyard, he froze.

Duan Yun finally understood why the houses up here had been abandoned. Not far beyond the rear courtyard lay a stretch of woodland.

Bamboo grew throughout the woods, along with graves scattered everywhere.

Some had tombstones, some did not. Some still retained the shape of burial mounds, while others had been washed open by rain, exposing what lay inside. They stretched beyond the eye's reach.

Behind the residence was a massive grave mountain. Most absurd of all, someone had set up two straw men beside the graves, as though two people were watching you.

Even Duan Yun, who had spent nights sleeping beside wilderness graves, felt his scalp go numb.

It was clearly only afternoon, yet the place gave off an eerie, freezing chill.

Sworn Sister Manor beside this grave mountain could truly be called a standard haunted house.

No wonder hardly anyone came here.

Duan Yun quickly decided to live here.

Was there a better place than this?

It was secluded, no one would disturb him, it was not far from town and convenient for buying things, and most importantly, he would not have to pay rent.

Without another word, Duan Yun vaulted over the wall.

He was going to inspect his new home!